Transcript Lead-Acid Battery Recycling in Baltic Countries

By Ecometal Ltd.
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Founded in 1999
Amount of investments made – 6 mil. EUR
Production started in 2003
Total capacity of recycling up to 20 000 tons
of batteries annually
Number of employees – 53 (as of May 2007)
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Soft Lead
Lead Alloys
Lead/Antimony
Lead/Selenium
Lead/Copper
Lead/Calcium
Lead/Tin
14000
14000
12000
12000
10000
8000
6000
8000
7400
8500
5200
4000
2000
0 275
2004
460
2005
560
2006
PP Sales (t)
Metal Sales (t)
Recycling (t)
The recycling process in Ecometal Ltd.
includes
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Physical treatment – crushing and separation of
different parts of batteries
Chemical treatment – washing of the separated
parts and chemical neutralizing of the battery
electrolyte
Thermal treatment – smelting and refining of metal
parts of the battery and extraction of the slag
generated in process of smelting
Ecometal Ltd generates and
manages the following wastes:
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Slag – collected and disposed to
special land-fill
Waste water – and acid is collected,
used in process and neutralized.
Then forwarded to sewage.
Exhaust air from furnace and other –
filtered in modern filter-system and
forwarded to chimney. Level of waste
constantly controlled.
Ecometal AS is modern factory for recycling
lead-acid batteries that was created in
accordance with the principal goals of the
Estonian Environmental Strategy and the
Environmental
Activity
Plan:
the
development
of
waste
management,
decreasing waste production, and the
stimulation
of
recycling.
Therefore,
environment-friendly activity is one of our
main interests and a precondition of our
long-term business activities.
• Ecometal was ISO
14001:2004
certified in 2006
•EMAS certification
is in process
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GENERAL
1. Directive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 5.april 2006 on waste
SPECIFIC
2. Directive 91/157/EEC of 18 March 1991 on batteries and
accumulators containing certain dangerous substances
3. Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 6 September 2006 on batteries and
accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators
SHIPMENTS OF WASTES
4. Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste
5. Basel Convention of 22 March on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal
Country
Market
volume
(t)
2005 (in 2005 %
tons)
2006 t 2006 % 2007/ I qtr. 2007 %
t
Estonia
3500
2357
67
3203
92
3315/773
Latvia
5500
3449
63
3946
72
4500/1024 82
Lithuania 9000
1904
21
1840
20
2045/483
TOTAL
7710
43
8989
50
9860/2280 55
18000
95
23
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Different systems of Producers Liability
implementation in Baltic countries
Low level of control on borders over the
delivered goods
Different requirements for the recyclers in
Baltic countries
Unfair competition between recyclers and
collectors.
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1.
2.
Suggestions for unified battery collection and recycling system
in Baltic countries:
All recyclers of the batteries should have same
requirements for the technology in use and
environmental control over the activity. These
requirements should be equal to every company in
such field of business and that rule should be applied
in all Baltic States equally to meet the requirements of
the Battery Directive of the EU
Stronger control over the fulfillment of Basel
Convention and relevant EU regulations and directives
for movement of hazardous waste between Baltic
countries.
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3.
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5.
Suggestions for unified battery collection and recycling system
in Baltic countries:
Equal system of Producers Liability should be applied
in all Baltic States. It should be concerted and
harmonized
All information on national licences and permits on
recovery or disposal of hazardous waste and
hazardous waste import-export permissions should
be available in Internet.
Authorities should assure the recycling of lead-acid
batteries with best available technology by allowing
the trans-boundary movement of such waste to the
nearest controlled relevant recycler.